Looking back on 28 Years as Superintendent

Dr. Duane Schafer has been superintendent of Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Spokane since 1989, and a Catholic Schools educator for nearly 49 years. He shares his own experience and the hope we have in our Catholic schools looking forward.
Dr. Schafer moved to Columbus, Ohio in 1981 and became the first lay principal at Holy Spirit Catholic School. During his time at Holy Spirit the school was remodeled, a new gymnasium built and enrollment doubled. As his time at Holy Spirit came to an end and he was looking for opportunities elsewhere, he received a call from Holy Name of Jesus School in Indialantic, Fla. informing him he was a finalist for the principal position. A position he had never applied for. Dr. Schafer learned that a colleague, a religious sister, had encouraged the school to take a look at his resume and his previous successes as a principal in Ohio. After much discern-ment, Dr. Schafer became the first lay principal of Holy Name of Jesus Catholic School.
After serving as principal in Indialantic for three years, Dr. Schafer was encouraged to apply for the su-perintendent job in Spokane by his vice principal. He said that he was unsure of applying for this position because he did not have central office experience, but the vice principal — a religious sister — told him that he needed to apply. It turned out to be a provi-dential bit of encouragement.
In 1989, Dr. Schafer began as the superintendent in the Diocese of Spokane. When asked about his initial impressions of the schools in Spokane, Dr. Schafer shared, “I immediately realized how dedicated they were to their children and their schools. We have great people in our schools — it’s one of the great blessings of working in Catholic schools.”
When asked about some of the accomplishments that he was proud of during his time as superin-tendent, Dr. Schafer focused on one of his first big initiatives, the 1990-1991
diocesan-wide strategic planning
process for schools called Vision
2000. According to Dr. Scha-
fer, “a lot of wonderful things
emerged from that planning pro-
cess.” Chief among the changes
were efforts to coordinate pay
scales and benefits among dioce-
san schools. Since school systems
in most dioceses tend to be parish centered, these achievements in cooperation and collaboration were innovative and of great benefit.
From these strategic plans, many new procedures and goals were developed. From uniform teacher and principal evaluations, to participation in the West-ern Catholic Education Association Accreditation process, and even a new focus on developing com-mon curriculum. A process that continues to this day. In the early years, Dr. Schafer oversaw the annual curriculum reviews.
Now Katie Rieckers, the curriculum coordinator, continues this process. A curricular area is selected annually, and teachers and administrators from the various schools offer input, examine the standards, review the current curriculum and make revisions.
When asked why he chose to be a Catholic school educator for 49 years, Dr. Schafer replied, “I felt that I was called to this special ministry. I never intended to be a teacher or school administrator, but each step on my journey has been guided by the Holy Spirit through the voice of significant others in my life. I’ve always had the encouragement and support from
my wife Jo, and my many colleagues over the years. Furthermore, I have had the opportunity to work with so many amazingly dedicated and competent teachers and principals throughout my career. These individu-als have been such a source of energy as I’ve watched them live their faith and model it each and every day for their students and each other. I have been blessed!”
In addition to his work as superintendent, in 2002 Dr. Schafer was appointed to be the safe environment coordinator for the diocese. As safe environment coordinator, he was responsible to train all clergy and personnel and local safe environment coordinators, and facilitate the implementation of the diocesan Safe Environment Program for children, youth and adult volunteers. Beyond his work with the diocese, Dr. Schafer has for the past 13 years taught as an adjunct faculty member in the Gonzaga University School of Education, teaching one course each semester for the Masters in Educational Leadership and Administration Program.
Speaking with Dr. Schafer it is clear he views his work as a ministry and that faith is important in his life. When asked what was it about the Catholic faith that held his attention and belief, when that is no longer the usual story in our culture, Dr. Schafer replied,
“the Church has always been very central to my life.” He stressed the dual importance of the faith commu-nity and Christ in the Eucharist, saying “Community and Eucharist have been the true focus that holds me to the Church. The sense of the whole community — who we are as Church — and our focus on Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.”
Dr. Schafer’s commitment to the faith and to Cath-olic education is clear to those who know him. When he spoke of his terms as principal in Florida and Ohio, he spoke not only of the work he did in the schools, but also his desire and effort to be an active part of the parish community. An effort to be present and known to families in the parish, whether or not their children attended the Catholic school.
When asked about his upcoming retirement, Dr. Schafer said that he was approaching it with the same reassurance of the Holy Spirit’s guidance that he feels has been with him throughout his life and career. He shared that it was his intention to, “stay for one more year here as superintendent, but last spring I got this sense that it is time. It’s time to move on. It’s time to have someone new here. It’s time for me to come up with something new, to follow where the Holy Spirit calls me.”
Having been a Catholic educator for nearly five decades, Dr. Schafer has seen a lot of change, from being at schools as they introduced tuition for the first time; to seeing schools grow under his supervision; to serving as superintendent in Spokane through the hard days of the diocesan bankruptcy. Now, even with many Catholic schools throughout the nation struggling for various reasons, Dr. Schafer sees great hope both in the strength and tenacity of our local schools, but also in what he termed a new energy in Catholic schools nationwide. He said there has been “a resurgence of energy on a national level to say ‘we have dealt with lots of challenges and now is the time to say those are behind us and we are going to move forward with our Catholic schools.’”
On a local level, it seems clear Dr. Schafer feels that is also the case, saying “a major sign of hope in our diocese is that we have a bishop, in Bishop Daly, who understands how significant Catholic schools are in the life of the Church.” Dr. Schafer, also spoke glow-ingly of the excellent administrators, teachers and staff of the Catholic schools in Spokane.
Finally, when he was asked what he will do after June 30, Dr. Schafer stated, “I am looking forward to spending more time with Jo, getting a part-time posi-tion somewhere to keep me busy, volunteer and take more time to read and play. Being a school administra-tor can be a difficult and very time consuming job, so it will be good to slow down, reflect, pray and serve others in new ways.